All Over the Place – With My Mama

DIT Project

I am thankful to my mom for giving me the freedom to be All Over the Place. Where do you think I get it from? It’s learned behavior! I have never met a more talented, loving, thoughtful and all over the place woman than my mama.  You think I can’t be still?  This woman will fix a kitchen sink, take a short break for lunch, go garden and then after dinner read an entire book! Her DIY skills are superior and sometimes borderline dangerous (projects that include electrical wiring).

I received my first sewing machine when I was nine years old and to this day, 32 years later, that machine works better than all the others!  I have the first apron and the doll quilt I made for my Cabbage Patch Kid!  Mama Casey is my “go to” for all projects. As I have gotten older and more refined (yeah right) I started decorating my home with fewer floor pillows and have progressed to upholstering chairs and making duvet covers. These endeavors often times require repeated calls home for sewing tips. What’s fun is when me and my mom have Do It Together (DIT) projects.

Each time my mom visits Atlanta I have “projects” for us (more so for her).  You know, things that need fixing or DIY projects or better yet DIT projects.  I love  mother and daughter DIT time, BUT I like to cut corners and that is unacceptable to my mom.  Not an option!  Attention to detail is key and every step must be followed, just imagine a sewing drill sergeant “Sergeant Mama Casey.” She takes on the persona of a drill sergeant when she is helping me with a project.  You will see on my blog several projects I have worked on by myself, don’t zoom in on those projects there might be an important piece of material missing or some mix match thread!  If it is collaboration with the sergeant then zoom in all you want, it will be a piece of perfection, an art piece.

During my mom’s visit to Atlanta over a year ago our project was this $20 IKEA chair we found in the clearance section. It was love at first sight (at least on my part, my mom could care less), the chair instantly became a mom and daughter DIT project. With our DIT projects I like to think of myself as the designer and my mom as the artistic director!  I had a vision for this chair. We used indigo batik fabric I purchased on a trip to Nigeria in 2000! I had been saving the fabric for something special. Yes, I am a fabric hoarder, especially with my African fabric, but that’s a topic for a another blog post. Anyway, with my mom’s extraordinary upholstery skills we turned this chair into a piece of art for my living room!  I like to think that if this chair was in Anthropologie it would cost $200. Don’t you agree?!

I have had this chair for over a year and it’s by far the most comfortable chair in my house.  It is more than just a piece of furniture; it’s an everyday reminder of how much I enjoy our artistic collaborations. I recognize our bond is special and we “get each other.” Sargent Mama Casey is my partner in crime.  This chair reminds me that it’s important to be creative and to use that energy to connect with those you love. My mom is a woman of many talents and the originator of being All Over the Place.  I aspire to be All Over the Place just like her, “when I grow up.”